'A Child's Coming' is going ... to the web

? The south Oak Park children's clothier plans to close March 19.

Bye-bye bricks and mortar: After March 19, kids' clothes from A Child's Coming will be available only online.

Yes, they have a permit for that

If you're going out of business in Oak Park and want to advertise a sale, you need a permit.

Any sale advertised as "going out of business," "closing out," "liquidation," "lost our lease," etc., needs a permit, said Village Clerk Sandra Sokol.

The $25 permit is good for 60 days, with another $25 fee for additional 30 days.

The local ordinance, which is simply an adoption of an 1959 state law, is not intended as a final nose-thumbing to a disappearing business, Sokol said. The law aims at stopping businesses from being in permanent liquidation, only to restock and continue to sell, which is illegal in Illinois.

As part of the permit, a business must file itemized information about its inventory, and can't restock, Sokol said.

Local businesses that are actually closing aren't exempt from the law, Sokol said. The village has had to enforce permit purchases on businesses that have had such sales, no matter whether the sale is called a "going out of business" sale or not. Violators can be ticketed and made to appear in court, Sokol said.?#34;Drew Carter

By DREW CARTER

The sign hanging in the window near the entry of A Child's Coming, 817 S. Oak Park Ave., reads, "Be A Perennial, Come Back."

The children's clothing boutique's owner, Kate Hlava, hopes her customers will continue to come back after the store closes on March 19.

Hlava hopes her local customers will continue to shop at www.achildscoming.com, the store's website. Customers from Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park who shop at the bricks-and-mortar store before it closes will receive free shipping on online orders for the next year.

"I want people to come back, just to find us online," Hlava said.

She'll offer other sales, too, including up to half off on some items. But she doubted she'll offer sales for more than 50 percent, as the merchandise could still be sold online.

Hlava plans to process web orders out of her home after the store closes.

A growing family pushed her to decide to close the business, Hlava said. When she opened the store four years ago, her two children were young enough to take with her to work. Now with a third, the eldest in first grade, her full-time mothering duties need to take precedence.

"I enjoyed it. It was a great experience," Hlava said. "It was just not fitting in with my life right now."

Hiring more staff would have just meant more oversight responsibilities, she said.

Hlava downplayed any economic influences in closing the store. She said A Child's Coming was "holding our own," but that if she had been "making a killing" she would have found a way to keep it open.

The store will have limited hours until it closes. It's open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays, and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For questions, call the store at 524-6002.Contact: dcarter@wjinc.com